Skip Frontz Jr. and the Left Handed Luckies' Vicetown is worth the (long) wait
It’s been a little over a year since Skip Frontz Jr. and His Left Handed Luckies gave us a sneak peek of their new project, Vicetown. At the time there was only a single with a B-side (“Vicetown” and “12 Gauge Love Affair”). The full album itself was slated for release in December of last year, but art isn’t to be rushed or forced and art is what Skip and company have created on this overdue record with a hard release date of November 22nd.
It was worth the wait.
Besides the aforementioned single (see the Oct. 21st issue of The Pulse for that review), the album contains eight other tracks, each one a study in rockabilly and blues. Musically, Frontz is a man out of time. He has not only mastered the performance of music from a bygone era, he has mastered the ability to write that music as well, bringing to life fresh, new tunes that are so authentically vintage you can smell the Bakelite as the tubes heat up in the Victrola.
“Asphalt (in My Veins)” is a thigh-slapping, foot-tapping bit of musical energy dedicated to life on the road and the drive so many musicians feel jumping feet-first into a lifestyle that frequently has non-musicians questioning their sanity. Fancy guitar work, beautiful pedal steel and a classic Buddy Holly hiccup in the vocals, the tune is nouveau-retro.
“We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)” is as smooth as southern sippin’ liquor, a laid-back bit of music with classically lazy horns, a gently strummed guitar and vocals that just slip on out. Frontz is an excellent lyricist. Other writers don’t say half as much with twice as many words.
“The Axeman (of New Orleans)” which features the always beloved 9th Street Stompers is the happiest, hottest tune about a homicidal maniac you’re likely to hear all month. Light, frenetic, and tight, the song showcases the instrumental virtuosity of the players and the lovely background vocals are a pleasant addition and a bit of texture I’d like to hear more of in the future.
“Wormwood” is the band’s answer to, “Hey, you got any Gypsy music?” The instrumental piece (an homage to absinthe perhaps?) features an interplay between violin and guitar that may as well be a duet between lovers. Polyrhythmic and sensual, it adds a nice flavor to the mix of the album and is undoubtedly on Gomez and Morticia’s playlist.
“One Dime at a Time” is everything good about rockabilly; shuffling drums, bouncing bass, lead guitar to die for and verses that make us wonder when in the hell Frontz stops to breathe. There’s definitely some Johnny Cash in the flavor of this tune. “Dustbowl” is a similar, but decidedly jazzier, sort of tune properly themed to the era.
“Chain Gang Boogie” is where you go if you want to see the moment where “not yet rock and roll” became rock and roll. It’s the sort of song that would be equally at home with Ray Charles, Elvis, Brian Setzer or Jerry Garcia.
“Black Widow Stomp” is the last song to talk about on the album. Admittedly one of my favorite tracks, it is a very slight departure in as much as the guitar work is marvelously fuzzed up in a Tex-Mex style that plays well with Frontz’s low-key, slightly dangerous sounding vocals.
The point has already been made once, the album is eleventh months overdue, but the takeaway from this collection of music is that Frontz and the Left Handed Luckies are perfectionists and the extra time was time well spent. It’s hard to know if they captured precisely what they meant to, but I have to think so, and either way they’ve undeniably captured a bit of lightning in a bottle.
The album is flawless, exceptional and available November 22nd at a show near you or via SkipFrontzJr.com
And congratulations to Frontz and musical partner Samantha “Sampire” Brotherton on their recent engagement. There couldn’t be a better match.